Is My The Pursuit of Love a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first impression: Hamish Hamilton, London, 1945 (published December 1945)
• Bound in the publisher's blue cloth with the spine lettered in gilt, in the pictorial dust wrapper illustrated by Roger Furse — binding and jacket artist are corroborated by three independent dealers
• Printed on poor wartime paper stock, so foxing and light toning of the text block are normal on genuine first impressions
• On unclipped jackets the original price is present at the front flap; a clipped flap removes the clearest jacket-state evidence
• Because the book reprinted immediately and heavily, the copyright-page verso is the deciding point: the first impression carries no added impression or reprint statement, while Hamish Hamilton's later impressions (a second impression dated 1946 is recorded) are so stated

How Hamish Hamilton marked a first edition

• First printing = statement present with no list of later impressions

Full Hamish Hamilton first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

True first is Hamish Hamilton, London, 1945 — the census claim is confirmed. The first American edition is Random House, New York, 1946 (copyright 1945), in a dust jacket illustrated by Albert Jousset; it was the first Mitford title published in America and is collected in its own right, but it follows the London edition. Both are collected: Hamish Hamilton 1945 is the true first, Random House 1946 the first American. The 1945 copyright date on the Random House edition does not give it precedence.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The Reprint Society (London) issued the title in 1947 — a book-club reprint, not the first, and identifiable by that imprint on the title page. Dealers also record a Hamish Hamilton second impression dated 1946. With roughly 200,000 copies sold in the first year, early reprints are far commoner than first impressions, so the verso statement rather than the 1945 title-page year is what settles a copy.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Pursuit of Love a first edition?

A first edition of The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford (Hamish Hamilton) is identified by: First edition, first impression: Hamish Hamilton, London, 1945 (published December 1945).

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. True first is Hamish Hamilton, London, 1945 — the census claim is confirmed.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

The Reprint Society (London) issued the title in 1947 — a book-club reprint, not the first, and identifiable by that imprint on the title page. Dealers also record a Hamish Hamilton second impression dated 1946. With roughly 200,000 copies sold in the first year, early reprints are far commoner than first impressions, so the verso statement rather than the 1945 title-page year is what settles a copy.

I have a first edition of The Pursuit of Love — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.